Tifa Lockhart was a young girl born and raised in the backwater village of Nibelheim, far away from the bustling city of Midgar. Popular in her village even as a kid, Tifa constantly surrounded by friends. She was notably a childhood friend of Cloud Strife, who himself was a loner and sought her attention. When the two became teenagers, Cloud announced that he was leaving for Midgar in hopes of becoming a SOLDIER like Sephiroth, to which Tifa made him promise that he would come and recue her if she was ever in a bind.
As the years went by and all the men left Nibelheim in search of jobs, Tifa remained. She became a tour guide for Nibelheim and Mt. Nibel, priding herself as being the best guide in town. During this as well, a powerful old martial artist named Zangan took her under his wing as a student, and she quickly rose to become his greatest martial arts pupil.
By the time she turned 16, Tifa noticed that Midgar's Shinra Power Electric Company sent a platoon of troops to Nibelheim in order to investigate Mt. Nibel's Mako Reactor. Two SOLDIER members in particular were sent, Sephiroth and Zack Fair, which disappointed Tifa as she hoped to see Cloud again. Regardless, she agreed to lead Sephiroth and Zack up Mt. Nibel as per her duties as a guide.
After Sephiroth reached the Mako Reactor and learned the truth of his creation, he went mad. After seven days of restless research, Sephiroth wreaked havoc upon Nibelheim, burning it down and killing all of its citizens. This included Tifa's father, who she was helpless to protect. In a fury, she confronted Sephiroth herself, but was delivered a gruesome slash across her chest. To her surprise, Cloud appeared by her side and carried her to safety.
Following Sephiroth's death at the hands of Cloud, she was to be captured by Professor Hojo and turned into a lab experiment. Thankfully, Zangan intervened, and saved her from that fate. She ended up in Midgar, where she met up with a man named Barret Wallace, and agreed to join his Avalanche group. She also started a small bar called Seventh Heaven, which she ran as the sole bartender.
Years passed as Tifa fought alongside Avalanche, and she eventually was able to reconvene with Cloud. However, she noticed that he was acting strange, and vowed to keep an eye on him as he joined Avalanche as well. Together, they were able to destroy several of Midgar's Mako Reactors, only to find that the true threat to the planet was the resurrected Sephiroth.
Tifa became a key member in the main party that travelled the planet to stop Sephiroth from destroying the planet with Meteor, and also was the main driving force to Cloud rediscovering who he really is. With Cloud back to normal and Sephiroth defeated once more, she and him settled down in Midgar together. They agreed to take in Barret's daughter, Marlene, and also adopted a young orphan boy named Denzel.
Tifa and Cloud together ran Cloud's Delivery Service, until three years later when a horrible plague began to infest the planet known as Geostigma. Cloud, having been infected, secluded himself from his newfound family and caused Tifa endless frustration. After a long talk with him however, along with help from Aerith Gainsborough and Zack Fair from the Lifestream, Tifa was able to rejuvenate Cloud's fighting spirit. Sephiroth was defeated for good, allowing for Tifa, Cloud, Marlene and Denzel to continue their happy family life.
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